Meshugga / Rock City / Nottingham
This was a show I’d been looking forward to for some time. The night was tinged with a little sadness, as Zeal & Ardor were due to support and what a line up that would have been…. But it wasn’t to be, as Covid hit the band and they had to pull out of this show at the last minute.
So plenty of time at the bar before the headlines came on…. A plus I guess lol. Meshuggah
Even before the band took to the stage, you could tell this was going to be an intense night.
The amount of lighting and sound equipment was massive. The stage was set out to mirror the design of the latest album with four, floor-standing life size banners depicting flaming decaying humanoid figures, one behind each band members stage position. The hall went dark and the red lights came on as the band came onto the stage. For a photographer, the lighting was extremely challenging. Mainly red, back lit with occasional white strobes. Made it very difficult to get some good shots, but from the audience perspective ? Wow, it was incredible !
The band roared into action, and the set was brutal…… Loud, raw and not for the faint-hearted. Contrary to those that criticise metal as ‘noise’ this was intense yes, but you can hear the depth and the detail in their sound too. It’s crazy loud and raw, but intricate too.
The lights flashed along to their signature heavy sound. Heavy reds with flashes of white, and the occasional section of green lighting bathing the stage. The lighting was as intense as the music and really added to the atmosphere.
The opening track is Broken Cog as Tomas Haake’s rhythmic drums maintain the beat as Jens Kidman delivering a growling and menacing vocal. Next up is another rack from “Immutable” in Light the Shortening Fuse which pulls no punches and has us back into that familiar Meshuggah sound.
In the middle of the set we get what was for me the highlight as they performed Mind’s Mirrors, In Death – Is Life and In Death – Is Death; a near twenty-minute long blast of pure Meshuggah. Towards the end of the set we had the first single from “Immutable” in The Abysmal Eye which translates to a live performance really well which is followed by a masterful performance of Straws Pulled at Random.
The eager crowd are rewarded with a two song encore of Demiurge and a, well a simply mind melting performance of fan favourite Future Breed Machine.
And with that, the night is over. It seems to have gone far too quickly. I don’t know if that was the lack of a support, or if it was just so immersive, you lost track of time, but either way, this was an epic performance from one of extreme metals finest bands.
Set List
Broken Cog
Light the Shortening Fuse
Rational Gaze
Pravus
The Hurt that Finds You First
Ligature Marks
Born in Dissonance
Song played from tape
Mind's Mirrors
In Death - Is Life
In Death - Is Death
The Abysmal Eye
Straws Pulled at Random
Demiurge
Future Breed Machine
